Members have raised questions with the Branch on specific points. We have raised these with PCS DWP Group and have received answers, the details are published below:

Question 1:

Procedure 9 refers to flexi leave as opposed to just assuming consent, people are asking about assuming consent not applying for leave (which may not be available), as opposed to “reasonable self-management of their time at the non-fixed end of their day”.

9. Flexi Leave – Line manager consent to take half or full days of flexi leave will be applied for in the same way as with requests for half or full days of annual leave up to the maximum credit or deficit carry over at the end of an accounting period. From the 6th February 2017 – The maximum accumulated flexi leave allowable is three days per four-week accounting period. Until 6 February 2017, the limit in any local flexi agreement will continue to apply

Questions 8 and 9 don’t seem to make any reference to 60 to 90 minutes:

Q8 Is line manager consent required to take flexi leave?

Yes, requests to take half or full days of flexi leave are treated the same as requests for annual leave.

Q9 Is line manager consent required to flex on or off early / late?

From the 6th February 2017 – Employees fixing either their start or end times will provide adequate resources across the team to meet customer demand. Therefore, employees should enjoy reasonable self-management of their time at the non-fixed end of their day. This is why the FWH Procedures refer to consent being assumed, with line managers only overriding this exceptionally. However, the normal courtesy and good team / customer service practice applies so that colleagues are aware when leaving early using assumed consent.

Is there an actual figure or are we really just going into this without any actual clarification (that is backed up in the agreement)?

Answer:

Thank you for your follow up question.

An absence of a day or half a day under the FWHA requires the consent of the line manager. This leaves, for those with a 7.24 day, a period of up to 3.41 during which ‘assumed consent’ may be reasonably used at the non-fixed end of the day. The  FWHA does not make any reference to 60 to 90 minutes but nor does the FWHA specify a strict definition of what is “reasonable” but given our experience of the normal use of flexi-time over the last 50 years, the flexibility to leave is most likely to be used towards the end of the day.